Transformers Prime: The Forgotten Soldier
by DonnyFire
Summary: After about 10 years of stasis, a former Autobot Lieutenant awakens from his involunteery nap. With no memory of who he was before, he finds himself on Cybertron, stranded in the City of Rust. He embarks on a journey to find himself. But when being hunted by the Seeker Division of the Decepticons, he must decide which side he is truly on. (DISCONTINUED-Lost interest)
1. Prologue

**New Story! Though I'm not technically finished with Darkness Rising: New Legends Born, I wanted to release a story surrounding Transformers. This takes place mostly during Fall of Cybertron and Prime. Please enjoy as we follow the journey of the Forgotten Soldier!**

"They're closing in!" Things were going downhill as the Decepticons were pushing us back. Our mission was to protect the Ark, the Autobots last chance of survival, but we were on our last legs. I pulled out my Neutron Assault Rifle and I started laying bullets down at the Decepticons. Some of the shots I fired were critical and couple died, but they were quickly replaced. Suddenly, I felt a large bullet whizz by my head. I quickly ducked to avoid getting shot. I shouted out, "Everyone get down, we have snipers!"

A soldier ran up to me, "Sir, what's the plan?"

"We hold this position till the last of us is dead!" I yelled in response. "They will not take the Ark today!"

Someone barked, "Leapers! Get down!"

Suddenly, the one of those leapers landed right next to us. The explosion caused by the impact sent me flying. I heard my head slam against the metal wall with a loud clang! I fell to the floor. Why am I always the one to get thrown around?

I watched as the leaper impaled the soldier I was next to with his large chisel-like hands. He looked at me and charged up his boosters. He sprinted and went into full ramming speed.

"Scrap!" I strafed out of his way, letting him charge himself into the wall. It stunned him, giving me a chance to do some damage. I pulled out my gun again and fired into his exposed thrusters. If there's anything I learned over the years from being an Autobot Lieutenant, is that a leaper's thrusters are their weak spot. They started to spark and catch fire, but not enough to implode.

He got back up and turned around. And he looked pissed. He, like his name suggested, leaped into the air for another slam attack. When he bared down on me, I didn't dodge. Instead, I jumped over him and pushed his head into the ground with my foot. I switched to my rocket launcher, aimed, locked on, and fired. It struck his back head on. I watched him panic as his thrusters blew him into pieces.

I blew the smoke from my launcher. That was a lot tougher than expected. I actually thought he was gonna kill me for a second there!

But before I could celebrate, a sharp pain hit me in my shoulder! I was so focused on the leaper, I completely forgot about the snipers. I felt the bullet tear through my shoulder and cut off the functions of my right arm.

I used my one good arm and grabbed a shield one of my titan soldiers had dropped when he died. I planted it into the ground behind me so I could use it as cover.

I patched myself into comms, "Ironhide, where are those reinforcements?!"

He groaned, "I'm trying, ok?! We were ambushed by a decepticon unit, so it will take a little longer than expected to get to your position. We'll be there in a couple of mini-cycles, just hold on!"

I punched the ground, "I don't have mini-cycles! The decepticons are up my tail pipe and I only have one working arm! I need you to kick it into high gear and get your tail pipe over here now unless you want to lose the Ark!"

He sighed, "Listen, I'll try, but I can't guarantee anything. Just get your head out of your comms and focus on what's in front of you!"

"Roger that." I peeked out from behind the shield, but quickly ducked back when a bullet scraped the shield and barely missed my head.

I yelled at the other soldiers, "Hold positions. We will defend the Ark till the last Autobot falls, understand?!"

They responded in unison, "Yes, sir!

A large explosion went off in the background. But the thing that worried me was thing that came out of the explosion. It was a large decepticon and the colors of the limbs were different from each other and its chest. It had two large guns on its back pointed towards the sky.

"Scrap, that's Bruticus!", I muttered to myself.

I cried out to the others, "Everyone, focus your fire on Bruticus! We cannot allow him to get close! Give him everything you got!" They all opened fire on the large Decepticon. I went to start shooting as well, but the arm that I was using for my gun was also the one that got shot by that sniper. So great! Here I am in the battle to determine the fate of the Autobot cause and I don't even have a weapon now. I have the absolute WORST luck out any Cybertronian that has ever lived.

I was cut out of my thoughts when someone screamed, "Bruticus is opening fire!" I peered around my shield. I saw Bruticus firing shells out of the guns on his back. He fired about six shells.

I shouted, "Get down!" as the tank shells Bruticus fired combusted as they hit the ground. Considering my luck, a shell landed right next to me. It knocked me back into my shield. I felt the shield shatter behind me as I was sent flying through it. I felt a horrific pain as a shard of my now broken shield stuck itself into my back. Then I slammed against the wall, embedding the shard deeper into my torso.

I fell to the floor with a loud thud. I attempted to get up, but my strength had already left my body. All I could do was watch as my optics faded to black.

…

When I woke up, I found myself laying down on a table. I tried to sit up but my chest sparked with pain. I heard someone say, "Ratchet, he's awake!"

Then the familiar white and red medical bot walked into my view. He seemed a bit distracted till he made eye contact with me.

"Lieutenant?"

I nodded, "Doctor. What happened?"

He responded, "You were heavily damaged in battle. Luckily, some of your soldiers transported you back to me before the Decepticons could finish the job."

I quickly realized that I had forgotten something, "The Ark! Did they take the Ark?"

"Luckily, no. Ironhide and his reinforcements arrived and pushed them back before they could. You don't need to worry."

I looked at my arm. I still couldn't move it! I hid my frustration as I tried to get up again. Ratchet noticed and pushed me back down.

"I wouldn't recommend getting up Lieutenant. Your spark chamber is heavily damaged, so I can't let you return to the field. I don't have the resources to repair you either." He seemed to take a moment before continuing, "Optimus and I decided that it would be best to put you into stasis."

I couldn't believe what he was saying! I had been part of this war against the Decepticons since the very beginning! I needed to be out there, not cooped up in a stuffy stasis pod. "But what about the soldiers? Who will lead them?"

"Jazz has volunteered to take your position as Lieutenant in your absence. I'm sorry, but we do not want to put an injured soldier in a situation where he certainly will not survive. If it brings you any comfort, Optimus was proud to fight alongside you."

I sighed. I couldn't believe this was happening. I am willing to put everything on the line for the Autobots and they were just willing to replace me! "If Optimus was proud of me, then why hasn't he said that to my face yet?!"

Suddenly, I heard a deep voice, "Because it does not need to be said." The voice came from the leader of the Autobots himself as he walked into my optic's field of vision. "I have always been proud of what you have done for me and those around you. Always willing to risk your spark for our cause, I was honored to have you as my Lieutenant."

Honestly, hearing that from a prime REALLY boosts your confidence. But seeing as I'm still being taken out of the fight, that compliment doesn't really ease the pain.

"Sir, I can still fight! I should be out there, killing those Decepti-creeps, not sleeping in a stasis pod!" I had hoped at least Optimus would understand.

But, "I understand your desire to continue contributing to the Autobot cause. But you have given up so much for us, we at least want to give you something to look forward to, a life after the war. And we can't do that if you die before the war is over. We promise you that when this war ends, we will return and everything you have given up for the cause will be repaid."

I wanted to continue arguing. I didn't want to go into stasis knowing I could still fight. But. whatever Optimus said was final and I knew that. "Fine, but just for the record, I'm not doing this for a reward. I helped because it was a worthy cause and the Decepticons are wrong!"

Ratchet nodded, "Ok then; now that that's settled, let's get you into the stasis pod." He reached out to try and help me up.

I brushed it away, "No thank you, I got this." As I lifted myself, my chest sparked excessively, each time sending a wave of pain through my body. But I pushed through and managed to will myself to the pod that was already set up. I stepped up into the pod and put my back to the inside of it.

While Ratchet was preparing the pod, I looked at Prime. We have been at this war for almost a decade now. There was just one last thing I needed to say.

"I'll see you again Optimus." We locked in arms, "Till all are one."

Prime nodded and repeated, "Till all are one."

Ratchet closed a panel and turned towards Optimus, "OK, the pod should repair his spark chamber over time." He looked at me, "Get some rest soldier, you deserve it."

The pod slid into my view and locked into a closed position. I felt my consciousness slowly fading as I closed my eyes and finally got some rest.


	2. Who Are You Again?

I woke up with a bit of a jolt. It was dark, meaning I was still in the stasis pod. Something felt off about… something; I don't know, I couldn't put my finger on it. It was a bit tight in there, but not too much. But I was awake, meaning the stasis pod was turned off. But for some reason the door wasn't opening. "OK, looks like I have to open this myself."

I peeked to see if there was a crack in the door. Luckily, there was and it was large enough for my fingers. I pushed both of my hands through the space and pulled the door with my right arm (which had been fixed during stasis). It budged a little, but remained in my way. I pulled again to no avail. I punched it in frustration, because it just would not open. But what interested me is that I made a dent in the door and I think the door even loosened. Seeing my opportunity to escape, I started to repeatedly punch it. Finally, the door gave way and broke off the pod.

I stepped out of the pod, getting a good look at my surroundings. I was in some kind of... stasis pod storage room. There were a number of other pods around where mine was. But… the other pods were open… and there were bodies all around them.

The bodies looked like they had seen better days, and that they had died a long time ago. Their colors were rusted and faded, and their faces wore expressions of agony. In fact, their armor wasn't just rusty, it was almost completely gone, like something had been gnawing away at it. Then, I heard something. It sounded like metal being crunched and crushed. That's when I noticed something on my pod. It was round, smooth, and had a metallic body (of course). It was actually eating the steel that the pod was made out of. But I realized what it was when it looked at me with its large, dulled, purple eyes. It was a scraplet!

It opened its mouth, which was filled with many rows of teeth, and jumped at me. I quickly grabbed it with my bare hand. It was trying to eat my metallic fingers before I crushed it in my palm. Blue energon squirted all over my palm as its steel body gave way. Once I felt like it was dead, I tossed it to the side. But something was still bothering me. There's no way just ONE scraplet could kill this many soldiers. They usually moved in packs; so the question is, where's the rest of them?

I looked around the room again, but this time I checked the ceiling. And I really wished I didn't. There were hundreds; no, thousands of them above me! They hadn't noticed me yet, so I looked for the door to the room. Once I spotted it, I sprinted for it! If I could get out before they noticed me, I could probably get out unscathed.

I reached the door and tried to pull it open. But like the pod door, it was stuck. If I tried what I did before, I probably wouldn't be able to open the door quick enough before the scraplets noticed attacked me. Maybe I could blow it up, but I don't have any explosives! But I noticed something. There was a rocket launcher attached to one of the dead soldiers. I could use that, but I would need to physically remove it in order to use it.

I was about to grab the launcher when; all of a sudden, what I thought to be a dead soldier grabbed my forearm. He spoke, "Please… don't.

I looked at the eyes of the surviving soldier. They were red, but were flickering. I wanted to help him, but the scraplets ate the circuitry in both of his legs.

I whispered to him, "Listen; in your condition, I don't think I can help you. In order to get out of here, I need your rocket launcher."

He coughed up energon. "Ok, just… don't let those things eat me." He grabbed me by my shoulder. "Extinguish... my spark… if you have to."

I didn't want to kill him, but… I needed those rockets. I grabbed a small energon dagger that was nearby. I looked at him with sorrowed optics, "I'm sorry." I plunged the blade deep into his spark chamber. I felt his body convulse as his soul faded from existence.

He whispered to me his last words, "Thank you…" His red optics faded to black as he shut down. I… hated myself for the fact that I had to end another soldier's life to save my own.

But I couldn't waste time sulking. I grabbed the launcher with both hands. I put my foot on his upper arm and pushed it while pulling the launcher. I heard a joint snap as I continue to pull. Then, it finally broke off. I stumbled back a bit, but I remained on my feet. I used the launcher and aimed at the door. I pulled off a panel on the rocket launcher, grabbed a bunch of the wires inside, and pulled them out. This caused the launcher to short circuit and fire, blowing the door open.

I didn't wait for the scraplets to react; I converted into my truck form and drove out. Luckily, the scraplets didn't follow me out.

I still… couldn't believe it. I just ended another soldier's life. I could've have at least tried to save him! But I chose the selfish option and saved myself. I sighed; there was nothing I could've done about it at that point. I had no choice but to move on. I stopped by what looked like a control room. I reverted back to robot form and stepped inside.

There was a large console in the middle of the room. Also, there was something that was bothering me. I had no idea where I was. It sounds weird, but I didn't even know what planet I was on right now. It felt like I should know but I just… didn't. Everything around me felt so familiar, but I couldn't put a name to it. Maybe the console knows something that I don't.

I walked up and turned the console on and it spoke.

 ** _...Teletraan 1 Online…_**

 ** _...Please Confirm Identity…_**

"Confirm my identity? So just… give it my name? Ok, easy enough. Teletraan 1, my name is…" I froze. I… didn't know my name. That kind of worried me. How did I not know my own name? A name did come to mind though, but it wasn't my name.

"My name is Optimus Prime." I had heard and remembered the name, but I didn't know who that actually was.

.. _ **.Identity Confirmed…**_

 _ **...Welcome Back, Optimus Prime...**_

"Geez, that was easy." The console gave me three options: Navigation, Armory, and Databanks. "Teletraan, open your databanks."

 _ **...Opening Databanks...**_

 _ **...Error…**_

 _ **...Databanks Partially Corrupted…**_

Scrap, that meant some of its data had been lost. But only a part of the data was lost, so I continued, "Teletraan 1, where are we currently?"

 _ **...Searching Databanks…**_

 _ **...Entry Found…**_

 _ **...Current Location: Cybertron- Home of the Autobots and Decepticons…**_

"Autobots…? Decepticons…?" The two names, like before, felt familiar but I still couldn't quite remember. "Teletraan 1, who are the Autobots and the Decepticons?"

 _ **...Searching Databanks…**_

 _ **...Error…**_

 _ **...Entry Not Found…**_

"Of course THAT part of your databanks is gone!" I contemplated my next request. I decided that I should try and find out who I am. "Teletraan 1, do you have any data on who was stored in stasis here?"

 ** _...Searching Databanks…_**

 ** _...Error…_**

 ** _...Entry Not Found…_**

"Frag this stupid machine! How am I supposed to figure out what to do if I don't even know my own name?!" I punched the side of the console, hoping it would do something! It didn't. There was no point in searching the databank any further.

"Ok, Teletraan 1, open your armory." I needed a weapon. I didn't know what was out there and I wasn't gonna take any chances.

. _ **..Opening Armory…**_

 _ **...Please Make Weapon Selection of Your Choice…**_

There weren't too many options. I inspected the list that I was given. "Path blaster…, Gear shredder…, Riot cannon; No, none of these feel… right." But there was one weapon that stood out to me. It was called a Neutron Assault Rifle. I had this feeling of… familiarity with this weapon that I just didn't have with any of the others.

"Teletraan 1, I have selected the Neutron Assault Rifle as my weapon."

 _ **...Your Weapon Has Been Selected…**_

 _ **...Processing…**_

A panel on the right side of the console opened up, revealing my newly selected weapon. My right hand folded into my forearm, giving me a slot to insert it. The rifle plugged into my arm and folded into my forearm, giving me my hand back. Before I could decide my next move, Teletraan 1 started flashing red and blaring an alarm in my audio receptors.

 _ **...Warning…**_

 _ **...Warning…**_

 _ **...Two Decepticons Signals Detected…**_

"Scrap, I don't know if Decepticons are friend or foe, but I don't really wanna find out." I quickly turned the console off and scanned the room. There was almost no place to hide, except for an old storage pod. "Well, better than nothing."

I rushed inside of the pod and pulled the door almost completely closed; so, in case it was actually a stasis pod, I wouldn't lock myself in. Then, I waited.

I prepped my rifle, just in case they figured out where I was. I hadn't actually used my rifle yet, but I was confident enough that I just needed to know how to fire it. But if they didn't find me and they left, what would I do next? Maybe I could try and find out who I am, but where would I start? I know where I am now, but I still had no idea what this planet was like.

I was cut out of my thoughts when I heard something. It sounded like two people were talking. I leaned in a bit to hear what they were saying.

A female voice said, "Are you sure this is the location, Skywarp?"

There was also a male voice saying, "Yes, this is the place. An unknown signal was detected around here. You check the control room; I'll check the other rooms."

I saw someone walk in. It was a female Decepticon. She had a purple and teal color scheme. There was, what I assumed to be a jet cockpit on her chest and she had two teal wings on her back.

She walked up and accessed the console I had used earlier.

 _ **...Teletraan 1 Online…**_

 _ **...Please Confirm Identity…**_

She spoke, "Slipstream."

 _ **...Identity Confirmed…**_

 _ **...Welcome Back, Slipstream…**_

She wasted no time. "Teletraan 1, open your data banks and tell me who recently logged into your system."

 _ **...Opening Databanks…**_

 _ **...Searching Databanks…**_

 _ **...Last Record Entry: Optimus Prime…**_

Of course the console recorded when I logged in! I have the absolute worst luck!

"Optimus Prime?" she said questioningly, "What was he looking for that would be in the City of Rust?"

I heard the other Decepticon walk in. He was very similar to Slipstream, except for his color scheme. His main color was black and he had a secondary color of purple.

He spoke to her, "Have you found anything yet, Slipstream?"

She shook her head, "It appears that the last one that logged into Teletraan 1, this console specifically, was Optimus, you?

"There was a stasis pod storage facility, but every pod was open and anything that came out of them is now laying on the floor in a scrap heap."

He paused, "but what was interesting is that the door to the room had been blown off. There were scorch marks on the inside of the door frame, indicating that whatever hit the door came from the inside of the room. Which means…"

She finished his thought, "...whoever escaped that room likely used the console in front of us. But if that's true, why did they use the name Optimus Prime when logging in?"

That statement reminded me, what was my name? I knew Optimus Prime wasn't my name: it just sounded too… noble to me. So what was it? And how could I forget it? No, these were questions for another time. Right now, I needed to keep my eye on these two so I didn't get caught off guard.

His response echoed, "Well if he was put into stasis, then he must have been heavily damaged during the war. Maybe his memory core was partially damaged in a fight."

"Are you saying whoever this was forgot their own name?" She sounded skeptical.

Skywarp shrugged it off, "It's possible."

She rolled her optics, "I swear to Primus, you have lug nuts for a brain."

"I know, but that's not the problem. We need to find this Cybertronian amnesiac. You continue searching through the base, he could still be hiding. I'll circle the area to make sure he hasn't run away." Skywarp transformed into a jet and flew out of the room.

I saw Slipstream pull out a device. It was emitting a loud beeping sound as she scanned the area. As she walked around, the noise changed tempo. But she started walking towards the pod I was hiding in. The beeping started getting faster and faster as she got closer and closer. That's when I realized what the device was. It was some kind of energon indicator!

She was next to the storage pod and the device was going crazy. She smirked, "Finally found you!"

Scrap, I couldn't let her open the door, so I kicked it open. The door smacked her in the face and sent her stumbling back.

I pulled out my rifle and aimed at her. I yelled, "Stay back!"

She growled with frustration, "Why you little slag for brains!" She looked up to face me. She was clearly angry. 'When I get my hands on you, I'll-!" She froze where she was. She seemed stunned by the way she was looking at me.

"Impossible, it can't be." She got to her feet. "What are you doing here?."

I had no idea what was going on. It seemed like she recognized me, even though I couldn't remember her. "You're talking to me like I have any idea who you are. I don't."

"So, Skywarp was right, you have lost your memory. Listen, Ricochet, we used to know each other."

"Wait, who is Ricochet?" I gasped in pain as a strong headache came on. It felt like my mind actually opening a little bit. I felt something… change. The name she just recited… that was my name. "That's... my name, isn't it?"

She nodded, "Yes, you and I went to the Iacon Military Academy at a young age. We both trained there. You trained as a battleground and tactics soldier while I trained as a surveillance and stealth engineer."

I thought another headache would happen, but it didn't; and I still didn't remember her. "I'm sorry, but I still don't know anything about you other than your name.."

"Listen, I'm-" before she could continue, we both heard loud jet thrusters approaching us. "Scrap, I need you to get back in that pod and hide!"

I rushed back over to the pod. Before I closed the door, I asked her, "Why are you helping me?"

"I'm not helping you, I'm saving you," she corrected me, "now hide!"

I closed the door right before Skywarp decided to step in.

"Did you find him Slipstream?"

She hesitated, "No, the device picked up small amounts of energon, but not enough for a solid trail."

That news seemed to visibly upset Skywarp. "Scrap, Starscream's gonna have our heads for not finding anything."

Slipstream responded with, "Unless we don't tell him. We could lie and say that the console malfunctioned and turned itself on. Starscream won't know the difference."

Skywarp smiled, "Honestly, I hate the guy when he is mad, so very well. Let us take our leave." Both Decepticons transformed into their jet forms and took off, leaving nothing but smoke in their wake. And leaving me with more questions than answers.


	3. Knowledge Is Power

**Woah! It's Valentine's day! I have the perfect joke.**

 **Hey are you Optimus Prime cause you looking Optimus _f_ _ine._**

 **Ok, I'll stop here's the new chapter!**

I slowly stepped out of the pod. I had no idea whether or not they were actually gone. And it appears that I initially knew that female Decepticon, but I don't remember her now. At least she gave me my name. Ricochet, huh, not bad. Whoever chose my name had good taste.

Ok, enough of that. What did I need to do next? I may have known my name now, but that barely gives me any information on who I actually am! Slipstream mentioned a place called the Iacon Military Academy; maybe I could start there. Yet, I didn't know where to look for this academy; I had no idea what the outside of this base looked like.

Wait! Teletraan 1 had a navigation system; I could use that! But if I turned Teletraan back on, the Decepticons could come back. Should I risk it?

You know what? Scrap it, I needed that information anyway. I walked over to Teletraan 1 and powered it on.

 _ **…Teletraan 1 Online…**_

 _ **...Please Confirm Identity…**_

"Optimus Prime." I wasn't going to risk the Decepticons figuring out who I am.

 _ **…Identity Confirmed…**_

 _ **…Welcome Back, Optimus Prime…**_

Ok, I was in. "Teletraan 1, open Navigation and search for the Iacon Military Academy."

 _ **…Searching…**_

 _ **...Location Not Found…**_

Teletraan gave me a list of locations that were related to my search. None of them really seemed noteworthy except for one. It was a place called the Iacon Library. "If it's a library, then it probably has the information regarding the academy. Teletraan, where is the Iacon Library?"

 _ **...Searching…**_

 _ **...Location Found…**_

A map appeared on-screen; I used my optic scanners and registered the map into my memory. The library wasn't too far from here. So, now I could leave.

I shut down the console and stepped out of the control room. The hallway was dark, but my optics had a night vision mode. The doors to the outside were closed. I walked up to its control panel. Luckily, I remembered that these doors are quite easy to open; a literal single button opens these doors.

I reached out to open the door, but I hesitated. I was nervous all of a sudden. "Why am I nervous to open this door? It can't be that bad outside, can it?" I found my answer when I finally decided to open the doors. As they slid open, revealing to me the outside world, I was shocked by what I saw.

It was a barren wasteland. The buildings, that I remember to have a silver finish, was now covered with the reddish orange color of rust. Some of them had collapsed a long time ago

and their remains scattered across the metallic bridges and platforms. There was also piles of bodies for dead Cybertronians, who had died megacycles ago. All I could think to myself was, _"What happened here?_ " It was carnage, energon and circuitry everywhere. Did the Autobots and Decepticons cause this? I mean it sounds like they're rivalry factions but did they engage in a battle so fierce that it ripped our species apart?

Either way, I couldn't focus on events that already took place. I need to find this library and see if it has the location of my old academy. I transformed into my truck form and started my search. I drove out of the base quickly as to avoid being caught by the Decepticons. I was using the coordinates I recorded to track the library's location. As I was driving, I took in more of the scenery. I thought maybe it was just that one section of the city I was in that was broken down. But I was wrong; everything was in ruins. There's no way this was just a battle between factions; this was a war. Whoever these two factions were, they were fighting for something huge. But was it worth it? Was this much death necessary? I don't know, but I have to start with my past first before I can answer that question.

Luckily, I finally arrived at the library. It had an open entrance; anyone could walk in and out with no trouble. The architecture was beautifully crafted and it hadn't started breaking down yet surprisingly. I transformed into my robot form and stepped inside. There were shelves upon shelves of books for as far as I could see.

"Scrap, there are so many books! How am I supposed to know where to look?" I remembered that there's usually an Iacon Archivist tending to the library, waiting for others to ask them where to find certain books and information. But there was no one to be seen. I could try to find it myself, but it would be time-consuming and incredibly difficult. But I didn't really have any other choice.

There was a screen showing all the sections that were in the library. It was going in alphabetical order, which was really surprising. "There's no way it's this easy. They had an entire position in the council for this!" But when I opened up the "I" section, there were thousands of different books. "Ok, that's exactly what I was expecting." I began searching through all the books.

 **2 Hours Later**

I spent a long time searching through those books. It felt like an eternity before I found what I was looking for. There was a book that was named the Iacon Military Academy. I marked the book so it would make it easier to find. Then I ran into another problem. The books starting with the letter "I" were on 9th floor. And the only way up from the first floor was the stairs. I looked at the dreaded staircase, "You gotta be kidding me." I sighed and started the long walk up.

 **15 Minutes Later**

I fell down in exhaustion. I finally made it up the final flight of stairs and collapsed in the "I" section. How is the keeper able to get these books so quickly?! As I got up and walked into the section, a red alarm started blaring. A bunch of small drones flew into my line of sight.

 **Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert! Neutralizing Target!**

The drones all deployed their own small firearms. "Scrap!" I pulled out my rifle and started firing at the drones. Some of their shells were penetrated by my rounds, short circuited, and exploded. The others opened fire on me. I took cover behind one of the shelves. I peeked and continued laying down led on the small robots. A couple them went down, but they were getting smarter. They were starting to avoid more and more of my bullets over time. I couldn't stagnate my strategy. I needed to stay on my toes and vary my attacks.

I noticed a piece of shrapnel by my feet. I grabbed it and threw it at the drones. It impaled one and sent it crashing into its friends. Then, I ran out of cover and charged the drones. I jumped up into the air and snatched two of them. As I landed, I destroyed one by smashing it into the ground. I chucked the other one at the rest, aimed at it, and fired. This caused a chain reaction that blew up the group of drones and ended the fight.

I tossed what remained of the previous drone into the scrap heap that I had created. "Why did they attack me? Can only the keeper access these levels? It would make sense, he should be the only one looking after these books. So they considered me an enemy and opened fire. But it's over now. I should get back to what I was doing before I was interrupted." My gun folded back into my arm as I began to look for the book. Like the other the tasks before me, other than the drones, it was going to take awhile.

 **3 Hours Later**

How?! How is the keeper able to maintain and find all these books?! It took me three hours to find the stupid book! The book was marked with a crimson glow, differentiating itself from the others natural blue. When I saw it, I had to climb up the shelves in order to grab and pull it out of its resting place. Once I had it, I made my way back down. I said to myself, "Finally! That took way too much time out of my day. Now I just have to… scrap… I have to go back downstairs. Why does this planet hate me?"

 **15 Minutes Later**

I may not have memory of who I was before, but this is likely one of the worst days of my life. I finally reached the bottom floor and laid the book down on the table. I went through WAY too much to get this; so it better have the info I'm looking for. I opened the book to a bunch of dust to the face. I fanned it away and began to read through the book's passages. After reading a bit of its history, I found the coordinates. It was in the City Sector 217, near the center. "Ok, let's go find out who I am."

Before I could move, I felt someone push the barrel of a gun against the back of my head. "Autobot scum! Did you really think you could hide forever?" I was going to say I wasn't really hiding, but that wouldn't be a good thing to say right now.

Instead, I said, "Who are you?"

"My name is Thundercracker, soldier in the Seeker Division of the Decepticons. You are coming with me." He seemed a bit overconfident. Luckily, I already knew how I was going to take him down.

I turned around and used my left forearm to knock his weapon away. Utilizing my momentum, I socked him straight in his jaw. This knocked him down to one knee, allowing me to perform my next move. I didn't stop turning and put my left foot up on his knee. I used the leverage to elevate my right foot to connect with his face. I fell on my back, but I pushed myself off of the ground and kiped up. The Decepticon was still on the ground, a bit dazed from my sudden assault. My rifle deployed from my arm.

I stood my ground, "I'm not going anywhere!" The Decepticon wiped the energon that was leaking from his mouth.

He smiled, "Impressive, I didn't see that coming." He got to his feet, "But at least I get to kill you now!" He raised his shoulder blasters and started firing plasma rays at me. I rolled to my right and used the table as my cover. His blaster was having a hard time cutting through the metallic table, giving me time to think about my next move.

I had nothing other than my rifle. But he wasn't letting up on his attacks. If I tried to shoot him, I would most certainly die. So, I grabbed the table, lifted itup, and put it in between me and him. I charged the Decepticon with the table while also using it as a shield. I didn't stop until I felt the table hit him. I laid the table back down and kicked out two of its feet. He fired a missile at me. I back flipped over the missile and transformed into my truck form. I drove up the table, using it as a ramp. Mid-air, I transformed back into my robot form and landed on Thundercracker. I felt the glass cockpit on his chest shatter beneath my foot.

He struggled and tried to fire at my face. Before he could, I grabbed his left arm and struck the elbow joint with my palm. The joint broke and bent completely backwards. To be honest, I didn't want to break his arm, but he left me no choice. He screamed in pain and clutched at his broken elbow. He was defeated.

He screamed, "You're… a…. monster!"

That statement wasn't even close to the truth."You provoked me! That broken arm is on you. Now get out of here before I break the other one!" I wasn't actually going to break his other arm. It was just an empty threat to strike fear into his spark. And it worked as he panicked, transformed, and flew out of the library.

"Ok, now that he is out of the way, I can finally finish what I was doing." But of course, my luck was against me. The book I was using must have been hit by his plasma blaster because there was crisped and charred hole straight through the middle of it.

"That stupid Decepticon, how could he do that?!" I didn't know why, but I was steamed. I felt insulted by Thundercracker's actions even though I didn't remember this library. Sure there was a tinge of nostalgia, but nothing more. Either way, I was angry. After a couple of minutes, I managed to calm myself down. Besides, I had what I was looking for. I had already logged the location of the academy before I was attacked.

I was about to start making my way when I finally noticed something. A rust storm had kicked up outside. "Scrap, if I go out there, I'll get torn to shreds." I decided that it would be better if I just waited it out. I laid behind the keepers desk and went into a quick stasis nap. Tomorrow, I get to learn a little bit more about myself.


	4. Insolence

I woke up to a surprising start. I opened my eyes to find two red lights staring right at me. I didn't know what to do. I was about to say something when they put their hand over my mouth. My arm transformed into my rifle and I was going to aim whoever this was. But had they had a hand on my arm too. They whispered, "Don't." I recognized that voice: it was Slipstream. What was she doing? She let go of my mouth and stood up. She called to someone, "There is no one here, Thundercracker!"

I heard his voice, "But he was here! There was a dust storm; there is no way he could've have left!"

That's when I realized what was happening. They must have come back for me after the dust storm had settled down. Man, maybe I shouldn't have taken that stasis nap.

"Well, apparently there was since he isn't here!" She sounded kind of pissed. She walked away from I was laying and she continued, "You let that Autobot scum escape! We may never have another opportunity to capture him thanks to you!"

"Slipstream, he broke my arm and he threatened to break my other arm. If I would not have left-"

She interrupted him, "I care little for your excuses! There is only one thing you have shown me today; you are nothing but an insubordinate soldier. And as second in command under Starscream of the Seeker Regiment, I am authorized to terminate you!"

"No please!" He sounded terrified. I mean if she was speaking to me like that, I'd be scared of her too. "I don't deserve to be destroyed! I have served the Decepticons for mega-cycles!"

"Well, your services are no longer required!" I heard a sudden metallic clang and a loud crash.

I thought to myself, _"Scrap, she must not be joking around. But there's no way she would actually kill him, right?"_ But I had a strange feeling that I was about to be proven wrong.

I heard him begging, "Please I have done nothing to wrong you!" He clearly was just throwing out random statements to try and save his own tailpipe.

"No you have not wronged me; you have wronged the Decepticon cause! But don't worry, no one will miss you!" The final sound I heard was the sound of metal ripping. At last there was silence.

I waited there, behind the counter, for my cue to leave my hiding spot. At this point, she must have killed him. But still, I… wasn't expecting her to do it. Actually, I felt kind of upset that she did that. I mean, she just killed one of her own kind! How could she do that?!

But I didn't have anymore time to contemplate what she did when I heard her say, "Ok, Ricochet, it's clear."

I got up and stood on my feet. And I looked at her and then I looked at Thundercracker. He was most definitely dead. She had used a blade of some kind and stabbed him. The weapon must have cut through his spark chamber. And I noticed the sword she used folding back into her arm as she wiped the energon off its edge.

"Well…" was the first thing I said, "Care to explain the real reason why you killed him?"

"No, I killed him because of his insolence. Even if I revealed you to him, I would have ended him either way." Well that was a comforting thought (not really).

"But why? He made a mistake but was it really worth killing him over?"

She looked at me, "Are you trying to defend his actions? That's not like you at all to defend a Decepticon."

I couldn't believe she just said that! "No, he attacked me! The last thing I would do is defend him. I just don't think killing him was necessary. It just… feels wrong to do."

She smirked, "Hmm, I see those Autobot ideals are still ingrained into your brain. Listen, killing him sets a standard for the rest of the troops. They will fall in line."

I picked up after her, "...out of fear! Fighting for what you believe in is different than fighting for something that you're too scared to fail! A soldier shouldn't be afraid to fight!"

"Quiet! I have been second in command for mega-cycles while you were sleeping! I know what makes an army tick and this method is effective," She pointed at the body of Thundercracker, "and you don't have the experience to deny that!"

I opened my mouth to respond but I hesitated. She was right; I don't remember what it's like to be a soldier, much less a leader. I didn't recall what war was like when I was fighting in it, if I even fought. But I must have; Thundercracker called me an Autobot, which was one of the factions in the previous war. _"I wonder what part I played in the war?"_

My thoughts were quickly interrupted by Slipstream, "Ok, I'm patching you in."

"Wait, patching me into what?"

"A private communications network. Basically, comms for just you and me. It'll help us stay in touch." She walked up with a small sphere-like orb in her hand. She grabbed my head and inserted it into my ear. It sparked as it plugged itself into my audio receptors. She pushed something on the side of her head, "Can you hear me?"

Her voice was coming from two places at once. "Yes, the comms work."

"Ok, well, I have to return to the ship. I need to report to Starscream. When you need my help, contact me with your comms. Stay safe." She turned towards the door, transformed, and took off into the sky.

Now that... that incident… was over with, I could start moving towards my old military academy. The dust storm had subsided so I could roam freely now. There was no point in wasting time there so I transformed and drove out of the library.

Using the map and coordinates I recorded, I tracked my way through the city sector. The roads were surprisingly intact despite all the wreckage around it. Much like the previous sector, there were piles of bodies everywhere. It looked like a red and purple scrapyard. Though I was slightly desensitized, it still sickened me to see so many of my own kind deceased and rusting away. I didn't care if they were Autobot or Decepticon; this war is hurting them both. And I was apart of it, which was hard to accept.

But that was in the past. From now on, I'm going to forge a better future for myself. And the first step to bettering myself was to discover what was wrong with the old me. And that academy is the perfect place to start.

I pulled up to the coordinates. The academy must be fortified because there was a large wall cutting my line of sight of the main facility. There was something strange about it though. It looked new, or well kept; as if someone has been maintaining this base for awhile. But no matter who or what was in there, it wasn't going to stop me. I reverted to my robot form and strolled up to the gate. It was electronically locked, preventing me from opening it easily. And since there's a possibility that there was someone inside of the academy, it wouldn't be a very tactically intelligent decision to enter through the front door since I didn't know this person's intentions.

" _So I need to find a different point of entry. Maybe over the wall? I would need some kind of grappling hook, but those aren't particularly easy to find."_ But the more I thought about it, the more I realized, _"Doesn't every Cybertronian have some kind of… ability that they can use. If they do, then what is mine?"_ As soon as I asked myself that question, I felt the panel on my forearm open. I brought the panel up to my face. I was right, a grappling gun was deployed on my arm.

I aimed at the top of the wall and fired the hook. It wrapped around the railing and the cord rolled back into my arm until it was taut. Then I stepped back and jumped. The cord pulled my weight over the railing of the wall. I flipped over the railing and landed on my feet. On top of the wall, there were towers for guards and snipers to watch the gates, though they are empty now. I stepped towards the edge of the inner wall to scout the area.

There were two separate hangars with a small runway in the middle. Now that I was looking at it, the academy did have a nostalgic atmosphere. But no memories yet. If I wanted to figure out more, I was gonna have to investigate those buildings.

I took out my grappler and hooked it onto the inner railings. I jumped over it and used the cord to lower myself to the ground. The rope held my body well and I successfully made my way down the side of the wall.

I detached my rope and transformed into my truck form. I drove down the runway towards the two buildings. One of the hangars had a translucent red lighting, while the other had a lighter blue. I didn't think it mattered which one I went to so I went to the building with red lighting. The hangar door was open and I stepped inside.

There was almost no light in the hangar, forcing me to use night vision. I unfolded my rifle and called out, "Hello?!" My voice bounced off the walls and echoed back into my audio receptors. There was no response. _"Maybe I'm the only one here?"_ is what I foolishly thought.

I started exploring the facility. Luckily, there was a holographic map displaying on the wall. I was in the main training room. The map also labeled the building as the _Ground Hangar_ , or where ground troops would train. Seeing as I transform into a truck, I assumed I trained in this very building. I did feel a tinge of familiarity walking in here.

Then, it started coming back to me. It was like I was looking at an image in my head. I saw five different people, though only two I recognized. Slipstream and I were standing side by side. It must have been some kind of initiation day, because, since Slipstream was air force soldier, she would be training in the other hangar. The other three Cybertronians were completely unfamiliar to me. There was one standing in front of the rest. He must have been our sergeant.

I heard someone behind me, "You know… is peace and quiet really that hard to get?" The voice was deep and gritty, Out of instinct, I turned around with my gun aiming at the mysterious stranger.

"Who are you?"

"That's no way to greet someone. " Suddenly the lights turned on. I still had night vision on and the sudden change in brightness blinded me. Then I felt him grab my arm and swing me over his shoulder. I hit the ground with a thud and heard the charge up of a gun. My optics adjusted and I got to see who my unknown attacker was. He was… the one in my image who was standing far from the rest.

I only managed to utter, "Who… are you?"

He responded, "Ricochet? Do you not recognize me? It's your good old friend Ironhide. And I thought I'd never seen you again."


	5. Reunion

I didn't know how to respond. I may have remembered him before I was put into stasis. But considering the circumstances, I wasn't sure if I could trust him, "Ok, Ironhide, if I am your friend, then why did you blind me and attack me?"

"First of all, kid, you pointed a gun at me. Two, I couldn't tell who you were and I wasn't taking any chances. And three, I was going to do it even if I did know who you were beforehand. There's not much action happening around here anymore."

Honestly that explanation just pissed me off. I could feel my energon boiling.

He gave me an inquisitive look, "And why are you talking to me as if you don't know who I am?"

"Cause I don't know who you are! For all I know, you could be another one of those seekers hunting me down!" Thinking about it now, I probably shouldn't of told him that.

"Seekers? You're telling me that you're being chased by Decepticons?!" Well, scrap, I wasn't really planning on telling him that. But he figured it out on his own. He quickly ran outside and peeked around the corner, probably checking the area, "Where they following you here?"

"No, I don't have a signal for them to track." Considering each time they found me was by some other means, I kinda figured this statement was true. First time they had found me, Teletraan 1 had alerted them. Then, I'm assuming the Iacon library's security must have sent a distress signal that they picked up.

Ironhide contemplated what I had said. "Hmm, you're signal must have been disabled when you went into stasis."

"Why are you so worried about the Decepticons? If Thundercracker was the best they got, they are no threat to us." He was closing the hangar door when I said that. And as soon as those words left my voice processor, he froze.

He suddenly turned towards me, "You fought Thundercracker and won! Are you an idiot?! Now they will think you're a threat and hunt you down! Why didn't you just run?"

"He had a gun pointed at the back of my head! If I would've have tried to run, I would have gotten a head full of plasma! I had no choice but to fight him. Besides he wasn't too vexing to fight! I beat him with no trouble whatsoever" Seriously, he was not even close to beating me. Luckily, my skills weren't forgotten and I could still remember my military training.

"Of course you beat him. He is the bottom of the barrel in the Seeker Division. He posed no threat to you. But fighting him risks your cover being blown! He probably already told his superiors and they're looking for you now!"

I debated whether or not I should tell him about Slipstream and how she killed Thundercracker. Considering what he has said up until this point, I decided not to inform him. If he is uncomfortable with me fighting a Decepticon, he would rip my servos off if I told him that I communicated and can communicate with a Decepticon.

Instead, I responded with, "Fine, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have been so reckless. But I promise you, I wasn't followed."

He sighed, "Ok, but I'm closing the hangar down for awhile. Then you and I can… catch up on what's been happening while you've been in stasis." He pointed what looked like some sort of office, "You can go in there. I'll meet you in there when the hangar is secured." We both walked away from each other and I made my way to the office.

When I opened the door, I wasn't surprised from what I saw in there. Ironhide must have made this into a small room that had a monitor and two chairs for some reason. It was messy with random pieces of scrap and trash everywhere. He obviously doesn't care enough to clean it. When I walked in, I wondered though, _"What was that monitor for? Why does he have one?"_

I heard the door behind me open. He ambled through the doorway. _"Well, now is good time to ask."_

I posed the question, "Hey Ironhide, why do you have a random monitor in here?"

"Oh, well, I have to do something to pass the time. There's this planet called Earth and they have something they call 'television.' Not only can it provide its indigenous life forms with information but also provides a source of entertainment." He grabbed the remote for the monitor and turned it on.

On screen, there was a strange creature. He was wearing some kind of orange and blue fabric. He had golden fur on top of his head. It was screaming so loud, I had to cover my ears. I gave Ironhide a stern look and he turned the monitor off.

"How can anyone find that entertaining?!"

Ironhide shrugged, "I don't know but there's nothing better to watch. It's the only channel that works." He put the remote down, "Anyways, let's get down to business." He took a seat in the metal chair. "Have a seat," he gestured towards the chair opposite of his.

I sat down and faced him. Just by looking at him I could tell he was well past his prime. He seemed sluggish and tired. It was hard to tell, but his optics also seemed a bit dimmer than the others I had seen. His metal plating was also scratched, worn down, dented, you name it. Whatever he had gone through in his spark cycle must have been rough.

He must have noticed me prying because he said, "Kid, you know I've been around for megacycles. I pretty much already have one servo in the scrap heap already. So don't worry about my wellbeing; you'll be setting yourself up for an emotional breakdown . And now, ask me anything you want to."

I knew the first thing I was gonna ask, "Who are the Autobots and Decepticons?"

He sighed, "Of course that's your first question. Ok, listen closely. Megacycles ago, Cybertron was in its Golden Age. Technology was improving by leaps and bounds, our population had reached its peak, and we were going to have a new Prime selected. The one chosen for the Matrix of Leadership, the Power of the Primes, was a Cybertronian named Orion Pax. He was the last archivist of the Iacon Library and they believed he had compassion. However, this created new enemies for the young bot. His friend, Megatronus, became jealous and believed he deserved the power more than Orion. Despite the council rejecting him, he became determined to overthrow the council and rule over Cybertron. His influence as a gladiator of Kaon attracted a following. He turned his followers into his soldiers, creating the Decepticons."

I was a bit impatient, "What about the Autobots, where did they come from?"

"Patience, I was just about to get to that!" I realized that Ironhide was a very grumpy bot. "When Orion heard what his former ally was doing, he decided to gather a rebelling force to defeat the Decepticons. He called this army the Autobots and that's how the Great War started."

I have to admit, I felt better. I finally was figuring out what was happening around me. I continued with my next question, "Why was I put into stasis?"

"I can answer that. Near the end of the war, the Autobots were losing the fight so they constructed a ship named the Ark. It was to provide safe passage for them off of Cybertron. But the Decepticons weren't going to let us leave without a fight. They attacked the city and attempted to destroy the Ark. You were instructed to defend it. Sadly, you were overwhelmed before my reinforcements could make it to your position. We managed to push them back, but you were heavily damaged in the fight. Ratchet, our field medic, put you in stasis because we didn't have the energon nor the tools to repair you. They left you to repair for another day if the stasis pod didn't fix you first."

Ok, things were starting to make sense. I was starting to remember my last battle before I went into stasis. The leapers, that huge Decepticon, the carnage; I could remember all of it. But there was one last thing I need to ask, "Where are the Autobots now?"

Ironhide puzzled over the question before answering, "They reside on Earth now and protect its life from the Decepticons. They are trying to keep what happened here on Cybertron from happening on Earth. I would've joined them but this is my home. No matter how broken or battered it is, the home is where the spark is. I could never leave this place." He yawned, "Ok, get out. I need to take a stasis nap."

I was a bit caught off guard by how blunt he was, but I decided to respect his privacy and leave. When I closed the door, I surveyed the room now that I had the opportunity.

The room was spacious (as a hangar should be). Just like outside, the interior was well kept. _"He can keep this huge facility clean but he can't find the time to clean up the scrap pile in his office?"_ Either way, I now had a better idea of who I was and what had happened to me before all of this.

I was an Autobot who fought against the evil forces of Decepticons. I put my life on the line for this cause. It had to had been something worth fighting for, right? But it wasn't sure. Who knew if the Autobots were still in the right.

I heard a beeping in my audio receptors. I cut my comms on, "Slipstream, is that you?"

"Yes, it's me." Why was she calling me now?

"Is there something wrong?"

"Yes. Currently there are two Seekers searching for you. Wherever you are, keep out of the open. These two are probably some of the best fighters we have. Starscream has marked you as a priority and wants you captured. I suggest you keep to the shadows and lay low for awhile. Slipstream over and out."

"Wait!" Her signal didn't cut off so she was still listening. "Why do you keep helping me?

She was silent for couple of seconds before she responded, "Sorry, now is not the time. I'm taking a huge risk by contacting you. I can't explain right now. Just stay safe, we'll talk later, Slipstream over and out." Her signal went dead and I cut my comms.

I decided that if the Seekers showed up here, I needed to be prepared. I cut the lights to the hangar and turned on my night vision. I searched the rafters for a good vantage point. I chose a spot directly to the left of the main door. I used my grappling hook and heaved myself into that spot. My forearm flipped open and my Neutron Assault rifle expanded out.

Then I waited, never taking my eyes off the door. If there's anything I've learned while studying at the academy, patience is a virtue. Unfortunately for the Seekers, I'm a very patient person. I wasn't even sure if they were going to find me. Even if they didn't, I wanted to be prepared. If these guys were as tough as Slipstream said, I needed to have my guard up.

A couple of hours passed and nothing had happened yet. I had been sitting for a long time; so long that I couldn't feel my legs. I stood up and stretched out my joints. I was about to give up and jump down from the rafters when the hangar door suddenly slid open. I crouched back down as quickly as I could. There was an opposing silhouette in the doorway. The shadow was getting smaller, meaning they were getting closer. I aimed my reticle at the door. With almost no thought, a battle mask covered my face. I brushed it off and keep my gun trained on the door. My gun powered up and started spinning. The Decepticon finally walked through the door. My reticle lined up with his head and I took my shot.


	6. Kids These Days

I figuratively had my finger on the trigger. At any moment, I could have killed him with this shot. I couldn't let this Decepticon figure out I was here nor that I was watching him.

Before I could take the shot, the Decepticon called out, "Ironhide, are you here?" I paused. How the scrap did this guy know who Ironhide was? Then, the old office door swung open and the old lug nut himself stepped out.

He grudgingly said, "What is it Onslaught? Can't you see I'm trying to sleep here?!" Wait, did Ironhide actually recognize this guy? How much have I missed since I've been in stasis?! Well, I couldn't judge him since I am also communicating with a Decepticon. But still I wasn't expecting a strict and tough Cybertronian like Ironhide associating himself with former enemies. I'm surprised they hadn't blown each other's heads off yet.

"I've gathered some supplies that we can both split, but there isn't much." He pointed at the miniscule amount of energon he brought back. There was only about five maybe six cubes. That's barely enough to last a mega-cycle (or one month in human terms). Cybertron's energon production rates must have completely stopped. It must have been one of the huge consequence from the Great War. It was probably the main reason why the Autobots wanted to leave.

Ironhide peered around the Decepticon's shoulder to catch a glimpse of the cubes. "There's no way that's going to last us. Especially since we no longer are caring for just each other now."

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" There's no way Ironhide would reveal my presence to this Decepticon, would he? He does realize this Decepticon isn't going to take a strong liking to me, right?!"

"Well, we have a visitor." Suddenly, he looked directly at me! "Ricochet, get down from the scaffolding! He isn't your enemy!" He grumbled something else that I couldn't hear. But scrap, why did he reveal my location like that? Wait, how did he even know I was up here?! He was asleep!

I groaned in irritation. I pulled my grapple out and stapled it into the metallic scaffolding. I jumped down and slowly lowered myself to the ground. Once my feet touched the ground, I released my grapple and retracted it into my arm. My battle mask folded back into my helmet and I walked out into the open.

Onslaught was giving me a skeptical expression. "Who exactly is this kid?" I could tell by his slightly irritated tone that we were NOT going to get along.

"His name is Ricochet. He's an old military cadet and friend of mine from the war. Don't bother pushing him for any information about the war though; his memory has been wiped." I heard Ironhide chuckle, "Technically, you're partially responsible for his amnesia if you think about it."

That statement did nothing but piss him off. "Wait, how am I responsible for this protoform's memory loss?! I don't even know who he is!"

He called me a protoform. This guy must think that I must be some kind of kid or weakling. "Hold on a nano-second! I'm not a kid or some protoform, okay!"

"Oh, shut up half-pint. You don't even know what the war was like!" Okay, now I'm the one that's getting pissed off!

"At least I can still fight my wars!" I knew this would get under his plating.

"Is that a challenge, young bot?"

"If you think your rusty crankshaft can keep up with me, then the offer is there!" I held out my arms almost daring him to hit me.

He smirked, "No, you're not worth my time." He tried to walk away, but I had one last thing to say.

"Fine, it's not like you have that much time left anyways." This set him off.

Without uttering a word, he pulled what looked like a riot cannon out and pointed it right at me. He had a look of utter rage plastered on his face. I quickly rolled to my left and avoided the plasma fire. He wasn't messing around anymore.

I kicked his gun away; but in return, I got a fist to the face. I went flying into a bunch of empty energon cubes. As he started sprinting towards me, I slowly got up. When he went for another punch, I ducked underneath his arm. From behind him, I jumped, grabbed the back of his head, and slammed his face into the empty cubes. The box-like storage unit literally crumpled up like a piece of paper. Then, I grabbed another cube and crushed it against the back of his skull.

I started backing away and I thought he was finally down for the count. Boy, was I wrong. Almost like the dead rising from the ashes, he pushed the remaining shrapnel of the cube off his head and got back. He was a bit dazed, but he still looked ready to fight.

He raised his fists to guard his face. "Is that all you got, you overcompensated scout?" Or is talking your only talent?!"

For such an old bot, he was quite resilient. Before I could charge at him, Ironhide stepped between us, "That's enough you two! You're both acting like protoforms." I lowered my gun, but Onslaught kept his trained on me

"Ironhide, are you sure that we can trust this kid? His recklessness could blow our cover and the Decepticons would find us and kill us!" Look who's talking, this guy called me a kid first!

"Onslaught, he isn't a child. He's seen all the bodies outside of this place. He's seen the wreckage and consequences of the war. And I'm just saying, do you really want him to know what war really felt like? And what I said earlier was true. When you were attacking the Ark all those years ago as Bruticus, one of your missiles struck him. He nearly killed and had to put into stasis. He's experienced the Great War, he just doesn't remember it."

The FORMER Decepticon still looked on edge, but he holstered his weapon. "Fine, he can stay. But keep him out of my side of the facility." He took his half of the energon and stormed off.

I scoffed, "What crawled up his tailpipe and died?"

Ironhide gave me a stern look and shut my mouth. "That problem right now is you. Onslaught has a hard time trusting people, especially Autobots. It took me Primus knows how long just to get on his good side. Insulting and trying to fight him is only going to hurt your status and relationship with him. Who knows, it might be easier to just ask you to leave."

Okay, that was not going to happen. "Ironhide, I have nowhere else to go. You can't send me back out there!" 

"Technically, I'm your drill sergeant, so I can. And you've been doing well for yourself so far. If you were to stay here, you'll have to convince Onslaught. I wouldn't recommend talking to him right now though. As you clearly experienced yourself, he's not in a very good mood. So just get some sleep or something. We'll both go and talk to him once you're awake." He patted me on the back and walked back inside of his office.

I grappled back onto the scaffolding and laid down. The supporting beams were made of a very sturdy steel, so it could hold my weight.

It was silent and it gave me time to think about my current situation. I'm an amnesiac trying to find out his past. I'm getting chased by a bunch of Decepticons and I only have two senior bots with me. One of them doesn't even like me that much. It seems like I only have a reliable ally in Slipstream. Speaking of Slipstream, why is she helping me? We're on different sides of this war so why is she helping the enemy? Wait, why am I trusting the enemy? She could be using me for all I know. Should I continue trusting her? Or is she tricking me?

A beeping noise played in my audio receptor. I opened up my comms.

"Ricochet, are you there?"

"Yeah, is there something you need?"

"Yeah, can you give me your location? I want to speak to you in your person."

"Uh, sure. I'm at our old academy. Be careful though, there are two other bots here and they won't be too fond of you."

She chuckled, "Don't worry they won't even know I'm here. Just meet me on top of the academy walls. And I promise, I won't be keeping you waiting for long. Just be there. Slipstream out." The comm link went dead and I jumped back down from the beams. I made my way outside and transformed into my truck form.

I drove all the way to the edge of the wall and reverted back into my robot form. I aimed my grappling hook like before and shot it, hooking it around the railing. I pulled myself up and over the metallic bars and took in the view.

The city looked ancient. Everything was dark-orange hue, indicating its age. Rust was everywhere (I mean it's called the City of Rust for a reason). It covered the streets, the buildings, and the bodies. There was so much it almost all blended together. I found a spot with no railing and sat down, letting my legs hang off the edge. This spot felt strangely familiar, but I paid it no mind.

There was something else I noticed. There were these holographic tapestries hanging off some of the buildings. It had a strange symbol on it. It looked like some kind of face. There were hung all over the city. Maybe it's supposed to represent one of the factions in the war. Whichever faction that is, I have no idea who. But if one of the factions owned the city, then that means the other one is some kind of rebellion. I wondered why they were rebelling or what their cause fought for.

My thoughts were interrupted by the abrupt, but familiar sound of jet boosters. Slipstream hovered over the fortified walls and transformed, landing with a quiet thud. She strolled over to where I was sitting.

"Somehow, even without your memories, I always managed to find you out here. This was your favorite spot to look at the city and the stars." She pointed towards the sky, "Like that one." She was pointing at a constellation off into space. It had a surprisingly complex shape. It resembled a person kneeling with sword planted in front of him. "You told me that constellation inspired you to become a soldier. Because it wasn't a knight or someone special holding the sword, rather the common Cybertronian. It inspired to become that knight despite where you came from. You wanted to serve your community selflessly, to pledge yourself to some kind of cause."

I stopped her, "Okay, I understand that, but what did you want to talk about?"

She sat down next to me, "I want to know what you remember from your past. I was trying to see if you remember this spot, but you clearly don't."

"Well, it felt familiar, but I didn't really pay any attention to it. I was just… focused on the city."

She pointed at one of the buildings, "Do you remember that building?"

I definitely knew what it was called, "Isn't that the Iacon library?"

"Yeah, but do you remember anything about it? You have a connection with it. Just focus, close your eyes, and try and remember…"

I didn't really think it was going to work. But, what could go wrong? So I did what she said; I closed my eyes and focused on the library. I thought about what I had seen there earlier. It had a pinch of nostalgia. But there was one thing that did come to mind. The last archivist of the library was someone named Orion Pax. I wondered, who is Orion Pax? The name sounded familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it.

But then it hit me. I had another processor-ache, and two images appeared. One was of… me sitting down at one of the tables. There were a bunch of books and entries scattered around where I was reading. I seemed pretty intent on what I was doing. Must've been pretty important. The other image was of me shaking hands with whom I assumed to be Orion Pax. He looked pretty young and we seemed like good friends. Wait, that's right! I went to the library often before the war, so we had plenty of time to get know each other really well. I remember we used to sift through shelves to find a specific archive I was looking for.

Apparently, Slipstream could tell some of my memories were returning, "What do you remember about that library?"

"I remember sitting there studying different kinds of books. I can't really remember what they were about though."

"I can answer that." She pulled out one of the archives (she probably went to the library before this). She handed it to me.

In bold letters, the title of the archive read, "The Shrapnel of War."

"What is this?"

She opened it, "It's a diary of an old Cybertronian soldier. The academy required us to study these books in order to pass. From what I heard, you went every day to the library and studied. You would've have finished top of the class, if it wasn't for the war."

Considering that she was here, I decided to start asking questions, "Slipstream, how did the war start in the first place?"

"Well, it started with Orion Pax and a gladiator named Megatronus. Both were good friends but they were both also selected for inspection to become a Prime. After the evaluations were done, they determined that Pax was the perfect candidate to become a Prime. He was compassionate and cared much for the people around him. But rather than congratulating his friend, Megatronus walked out with a spark of jealousy. He believed the council was biased and that he should be Prime. So he set out to overthrow the High Council and reform it. Under his new name, Megatron, he turned his followers into his own personal army. He called them the Decepticons and they waged their war. But Orion stepped in his way. Despite their former friendship, Pax stood no chance against the retired gladiator. He was heavily damaged and cast down into the Well of Allsparks, a direct passage into the very core of Cybertron.

That was an exciting story, "Is that how the war ended?"

"Actually, on the contrary, it was the beginning of the war. Primus, the core of our planet, bestowed upon him an artifact called the Matrix of Leadership. The matrix transformed Orion Pax into Optimus Prime. This action, however, caused the planet's core to shut down and energon production to slow to a complete halt. It became less about becoming a Prime and more about taking the most energon. Then, we all left one day."

I heard a faint ringing coming from Slipstream. She cut her comms on, "Yes?... Yes Lord Starscream. I will be there shortly." She cut her comms, "I have to go. I am needed."

"Wait! I have one more question." She looked at me, awaiting my question. " Why are you helping me?"

She was hesitant to answer, "I can't tell you yet. I will when more of your memories are revealed to you. For now, just trust that I am genuinely trying to help you." She got up from the edge, "Contact me if you need me." She jumped off the wall and transformed in mid-air. She flew away, sending a strong whirlwind in her wake.

I got up as well and headed back to the hangar. I opened and closed the hangar door so I wouldn't wake Ironhide, I took my spot in the scaffolding and finally powered down into a stasis nap.

 **Hello Everyone! I hope you're enjoying the story so far! This is last chapter for this story for the next two weeks. I'm going on vacation the week after the next. I will** _ **NOT**_ **be writing any chapters during that time. Once my vacation is over, I'll start writing again. During that please leave your reviews on this story; I'm curious what you guys think. Thank you for those who are reading this story, I'll see you all in about three weeks! See ya later!**


	7. TFS Update

Hey, everyone. This is a quick update for Transformers TFS. I have good news and bad news. I'm back and ready to write! But, I have lost my inspiration and motivation to write this story. I just don't know where I wanna take this story and I don't feel motivated to continue writing it. This story will be taking an indefinite hiatus. I hope you guys did enjoy what I wrote. Hopefully, this story inspires you to read more of my stories, because I have plenty of ideas for others. I'm so sorry for making you wait this long just to tell this, but I wasn't sure how I felt until now. If my motivation for this story returns, I will continue it. Until then, go and check out some of my other works. Thank you guys for understanding


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